NATO fighter jets shot have down a drone over Lithuania in the latest security incident on Europe's border with Russia as its war with Ukraine continues.
"A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets," Lithuanian Preisdent Gitanas Nauseda wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.
"With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region."
The drone, which was shot down near the village of Pratkunai in southern Lithuania, near Kaunas, the second-largest city, came from neighbouring Belarus, and was heading west, according to Lithuanian national radio LRT, citing preliminary data from the National Crisis Management Centre.
A drone alert was issued earlier in the capital, Vilnius, and surrounding region.
"This is best example of Allied unity and resolve in action," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys in another post. The response sends "a clear message that NATO stands vigilant, committed, and ready".
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all NATO members that share a long border with Russia, have regularly reported drone incursions since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The mission's jets shot down stray Ukrainian drones over Estonia in May, the first interception of a foreign drone in Baltic airspace since the war began. Drones were shot down over Latvia in June and August.
Nauseda said in early July he wanted his country to take part in Western nuclear deterrence against Russia. Since then, Lithuania has started the process of lifting the constitutional ban on storing nuclear weapons on its soil.
Meanwhile, Poland announced "aviation operations" had commenced in its airspace "due to the activity of Russian Federation's jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory".
These actions are of a "preventive nature" and are aimed at "securing airspace and its protection, especially in areas adjacent to threatened regions", it added.
The incursion into Lithuania comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said Ukraine country was ready for "de-escalatory steps" if Russia did the same, after US President Donald Trump announced that the two sides had agreed to stop targeting each others' energy sites.
(with newswires)
